Dark Matters
by UberNerd121
Summary: Nos-4-a2 is found by an old acquaintance, and after receiving some serious damage, he fears for the safety of his three-month pregnant Eve Two.
1. Chapter 1

Part 1:

The door opened with a slow creak. Two sat up straight at the sound of it, happy that her husband was home after his trip into town. It seemed like ages since she'd seen him the night before, because he'd left that morning before she woke up. She seemed to sleep in later every day, always feeling less energized than she should have. The pregnancy was taking its toll on the fledgling Energy Vampire by sharing her power with the baby and the millions of nanobots that were constructing the hybrid and expanding her midsection. Waking up early was out of the question for the three-months-pregnant robot.

Eager to greet her lover after what felt like much longer than a day, Two rushed to meet him at the door. Her face suddenly fell at the sight of his pained expression.

"Nos-4-a2!" Two cried.

He looked up and winced as his shoulder bumped the door when it closed. Agony showed in his optic.

"Nos, what happened to you? Are you alright?" she hovered closer to him. The small gardener gasped in horror when she saw that the fabric over his shoulder was glistening with an opaque, silvery liquid.

Nos-4-a2 shook his head in answer to her question, holding his upper arm with his uninjured hand. He gritted his teeth and looked at his wife desperately.

"I-I'm here, Nos, come on... Follow me, I'll help you. We need to get you to the infirmary; don't black out..." Two put her arm around Nos-4-a2's back and helped support him down the hall. He was unsteady and had to lean heavily on the short probe, but her strength far exceeded her size. She quickly led him to the medical wing and helped him sit stably on the examination table.

"Computer, please help him," she asked, trying to stay calm. Nos let out a heavy sigh and closed his optic, leaning back against the wall. The table he was sitting on was against the far right wall across from the sink and counters. There was a single window with the curtains drawn, a dark ripple of fabric covering the pale concrete. Nos-4-a2 was a sore, broken heap of android sticking out from the pristine setting.

"I'm here, Mrs. Two. I'll take care of the scans," the system whirred. A panel in the metal ceiling opened and a segmented arm lowered down with a glassy ball on the end. It flickered red a few times before turning blue, giving off a fanned beam that slowly swept back and forth over the Energy Vampire.

Two stood back while Computer assessed her mate, worry in her eyeforms. What could have caused such an injury? It seemed as if he'd lost a lot of vital fluid from the wound in his shoulder, but she hadn't even seen it yet. The fabric of his cape was wrapped messily around the broken joint and completely soaked with iridescent liquid. It was almost too much for her to look at.

"Mrs. Two, I'm terribly sorry to bother you, but would you mind fetching a container of repair-type nanorobots and a small tube of liquid metal?" Computer queried. The white robot worriedly regarded her lover before deciding that the mainframe would keep him perfectly safe, and she turned to leave the inspection chamber to find the requested supplies. She hovered silently out of the door, leaving it open, and made her way down the hall to another room in the wing where all of the medical supplies were kept. The cubicle containers of nanorobots were all in a neat stack on a high shelf in the stark white room, and Two took a couple from the top of the pile just in case. Then she grabbed one of the cylinders of liquid metal, frowning as it shuddered and tried to "mend" the separate pieces that made up her hand. Even though Nos had complete control over liquid metal, Two still had no idea how to persuade the alien substance to obey her will. She hovered back to the room where Nos-4-a2 was as fast as she could so Computer could help him and take the annoying substance off of her appendage.

"Thank you very much," Computer murmured as Two put the materials down on the counter, flicking the liquid metal off her fingers. A pair of metal arms came out of the ceiling, one picking the items up and the other carefully unwrapping Nos's shoulder. Two gasped in horror to see the gaping wound torn through his red terillium-carbonic alloy.

"Oh, Nos…" she whispered sympathetically. His free formed optic opened to a dull sliver and he watched the metal arm bring the two inch cube of nanorobots to his shoulder, sliding it apart to release the shimmering goop into the open injury. He hissed sharply and winced as it dispersed into the tangle of torn tubes and wires, grabbing again at the point just below the injury. Two comfortingly put a gentle hand on his wrist and tried to offer some encouragement. She could read a tremor of his electricity through the contact of their metal. With more effort than it should have taken, Nos turned his optical sensors towards hers and just gazed. She could see and sense everything there: the pain he felt, the appreciation of her quick reaction, and surprisingly, fear. The probe could tell that this fear went beyond that of his injury, but for his life, and maybe something more. To say it worried her deeply would be an understatement.

"It's going to be alright, Nos-4-a2," she lightly stroked his wrist, "Don't worry. Computer will have you fixed up before you know it."

Right as she said so, Computer applied the liquid metal to the open gash and it expanded to close it up, allowing the nanobots to work on the damaged mechanisms without having to deal with any more leaking. Nos relaxed the slightest bit to see that he didn't have to worry about bleeding out any longer.

"I'll be back in a moment. I'm going to gather the equipment needed to replenish Mr. Nos-4-a2's vital substances." Computer announced.

"Could you also bring him a few power cells?" Two added.

"Of course."

The metal arms withdrew, leaving Nos and Two alone. They were both silent, one wondering desperately for what could have happened and the other struggling to stay conscious. Feeling that she would burst if she sat still for another moment, Two decided to further attempt to comfort the tall robot in front of her.

"Can you sit up for me just a little bit?" she asked quietly as she unbuckled his cape. He did his best, and with some help from Two, Nos's soiled cape was removed and piled into the waste basket beneath the sink. It felt better to have the heavy garment removed and the cool air able to touch his sore metal.

Nos felt so alleviated that he summoned the strength to speak. "_…__Eve. Sorry… hard to… explain. Danger…_"

The gardener quickly shushed him and put a hand on his cheek, "Don't strain yourself right now. You can tell me once you've had a chance to regain your strength, but until then, you shouldn't push it. You're safe now."

He frowned and leaned into her delicate hand, closing his optic. Two was right. Nos knew that he didn't possess the power to speak, and as long as they were inside, there was nothing to worry about... hopefully. It was hard to think in the state he was in.

A panel opened in the wall, revealing a compartment with a pair of rechargeable power cells. Two picked them up and thanked Computer.

"You're welcome. If Mr. Nos-4-a2 could consume some electricity now, it is important for me to know how much of what substances you need me to replenish," Computer requested. Two nodded and held one of the rectangular batteries.

"Did you hear what he said, Nos?" she asked gently. He opened his optic again and gave a soft grumble of affirmation. "Alright then, open up..."

Two lifted herself a few inches to comfortably reach the Energy Vampire's mouth and pressed the metal-lined box to his lips. His fangs reflexively extended and started to spin. The white probe steadied his head by putting one hand behind it, trying to aid the penetration of his fangs, carefully adding upward pressure to the battery. He gratefully drank every last bit of energy the cell had to offer.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked once he had finished.

Nos sighed, "Loads. Thank you, my dear... I'm sorry to have worried you."

"Leave it to you to be concerned about me at a time like this..." she smiled sadly and put the empty battery on the counter.

"You shouldn't be stressed in your condition. Computer... I'm missing a great supply of MR fluids, plus a... a little less than a quarter liter of coolant. All other systems are functioning, though he just missed my power line. Oh, and before I forget, a mug of motor oil would also be greatly appreciated," Nos said in a rough, quiet voice. The system immediately lowered two glass cylinders: one about 50 centimeters tall and 20 centimeters wide filled with a silvery, slow-moving liquid, and the other about 13 centimeters tall and 5 centimeters wide filled with a translucent blue liquid. Another thin pair of arms connected a tube to the bottom of each and pulled a panel off the back of Nos's neck, sliding the nozzles on the end of the tubes into their respective intake valves. Nos shuddered and groaned at the strange feeling of the liquid slowly seeping into his being.

He gave a slight shake of his head as if to clear his mind and reached for the second battery that Computer had brought them. Two motioned to help him with it, but he denied her and struggled to bring it to his mouth on his own. With his levels of magnetorheological fluids diminished, his movements were jerky and unsteady, but Two had observed many a time that there were few things capable of getting in between Nos-4-a2 and his power cells. He finished the new one off in half the time it took to finish the first, and the effect appeared to be positive. His dull optics began to give off a more lively shade of scarlet, but instead of relaxing, his brow began to crease. As his battery replenished and the fluid was restored to his systems his thoughts began to align. Two could sense that unnerving fear in his CPU grow stronger, along with a few other emotions she hadn't learned to identify yet. All she could tell was that none of them were positive.

"Please make sure that you do not remove the drip nozzles until the vials are completely empty and I can safely do it myself," Computer's modulated voice directed mildly, "I will return at said time."

Nos-4-a2 flexed his fingers experimentally, finding that the MR fluid hadn't quite made its way to the extremities yet. The movement of his knuckles was jagged and awkward without the special liquid to smooth it out. He tilted his head down to look at the silver blotch of liquid metal hardened in his shoulder. It had filled his wound and left the torn red alloy in a rough pattern around it.

"...What do you think?" he shrugged it lightly, "Does it make me look tough?"

Two blinked in shock. Even though the misshapen patch of metal did remind her of a scar, she couldn't find it in herself to laugh at his attempted humor.

"Nos... what happened to you?" she asked incredulously.

His face fell. "I'm... I'm sorry. Not the best time for jokes. I ran into someone on my way home. An... 'old acquaintance.' I never imagined anyone would be able to track me down with Star Command declaring me dead, but he found me out... I have no idea how. He's called Warp Darkmatter, one of Zurg's most powerful henchmen, but he's decided to overthrow the evil emperor as I once attempted... which is why he wanted to find me. He thought that we could team up... two of Zurg's most capable creations against the old emperor himself. I told him that I was... _retired_. Understandably, he didn't believe me and attempted a different path of persuasion. I flew into the clouds for cover and dimmed my wings, but he still took out my shoulder... thank the stars he missed the pivot motor in the socket. He could have taken my arm off completely."

Two wordlessly shook her head and hovered up to her husband, wrapping her arms carefully around his chest and pressing her visor into his good shoulder. The gentle bump forming in her abdomen pressed awkwardly against his front, but he held her in place with his uninjured arm. A tear sparked in the corner of her visor as she held him with all of her EVE Probe might.

"_Nos-4-a2..._" she whispered shakily, "_I don't know what to say..._"

Nos sighed softly and rested his head against hers comfortingly. "I'm so sorry, my love. I thought that being on Earth would prevent any danger from following us, but it's still happening... my darling, I'm so sorry. Now our baby is in danger. I don't know where Darkmatter's gone, but he's still out there somewhere. I'm so sorry."

Two shook her head into his shoulder and took him in, grateful that he was still there for her to hold. How could this happen? Suddenly, Axiom didn't feel like such a safe place to live.

And on top of that, Computer forgot to bring Nos a mug of oil.

~~~

**A/N:** This story is one of my personal favorites. Oh, and I can't believe this is my first time mentioning Computer... geeze, this is awkward. He's a pretty major character. As you can tell, he's the operating system and personality of their home. He used to be in Nos-4-a2's ship, but when they moved to Earth, Computer was downloaded into their home system. So, that's Computer. Pardon my derp. If you're confused, please refer to the timeline on my profile. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2:

It was dark in Axiom, an overcast sky blanketing the chilly November night. The mansion on the far outskirts of the colony stood out from the black sea of grass behind it, its silvery metal walls reflecting any amount of light that managed to fall upon them. In their chamber overlooking the east gardens, Nos and Two had drawn all of the curtains over the windows.

The couple were laying quietly in bed, bathed in the dim warm light of the heating crystals in the hearth. Two's processors were heavy with tiredness despite her normal habit of staying up later, but her battery didn't last nearly as long, even though she had started sleeping in later. She was flat on her back with Nos's arm around her and her head resting on his shoulder. Her visor was deactivated, but Nos's optics were still glowing a gentle shade of red.

_Why hasn't there been any sign of him...?_ the Energy Vampire thought fretfully, _Darkmatter wouldn't give up so easily. What is he waiting for?_

His mind was brimming with all of the possibilities and scenarios, making him feel sick to his stomach (if he'd actually had one). It had been three days since Warp Darkmatter had found Nos and shot him, and they'd called the local authorities. Since Nos was a bit of a "special case," a team had been sent from Star Command to search the Axiom Colony for the blue-skinned cyborg. They hoped to find him and take him to PC-7 so that Nos's secret location would be kept as such. The only thing Nos-4-a2 couldn't understand was why it was taking so long.

The day after the accident, they had gone to the ARL and fixed all of Nos's shoulder that the nanobots hadn't repaired, leaving it as good as new. Eve One and Wall•E had been horrified to hear the news and offered their own home as temporary lodging, but Nos assured them that Computer was an excellent security system. If Darkmatter so much as sneezed at the front gate, Computer would alert the Space Rangers.

_We're perfectly safe inside... Eve is safe... the baby is safe..._ he kept telling himself. He took a deep breath and tried to ease his mind, but to no avail. _Anything could happen._

"Noooos..." Two grumbled threateningly. His optic opened wide in surprise.

"Y-You're still awake?" he looked down at her with a baffled expression.

Her eyeforms slivered open in a frown. "It's hard to believe how often you forget that I'm an Energy Vampire, too."

"Well, Energy Vampire _fledgling—_"

"—Whatever. The fact is, I'm between a rock and a hard place here. It's hard enough to go offline with the baby as is, but you're thinking so hard that I can hear your thoughts without trying," the probe murmured quietly.

"...I'm sorry, I had no idea I was keeping you up," he sighed.

"I know. I can just barely hear something like a distant whisper, but it's so dangerous... it's not healthy to keep asking yourself 'What if?'" she chided, "Or to keep me up by thinking such things."

"I know, little one. I'm just so worried..." Nos moved the arm that wasn't already around her and tenderly placed his hand over her belly. "I don't want anything to happen to you."

Understanding his concern, Two sympathetically pressed a spark to his cheek before nuzzling her head back into his chest. "Don't think about it any more tonight. I love you, Nos-4-a2."

Her eyeforms drifted closed as Nos pressed his lips to the top of her head. He closed his optic and whispered, "I love you more..."

An adoring wavelength radiated from white robot's core before she finally slipped offline.

Although he refrained from thinking about his worries any more that night, he kept a silent watch over her sleeping form until the light of dawn turned the cloudy sky gray.

**A/N:** Here's the piddly little middle part of Dark Matters. Sorry I'm not so good at the center bits of stories. :/


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3:

"Eve to the front desk, please?" a familiar two-toned voice called Two's attention. She looked over her shoulder in surprise to see her mate standing nonchalantly by a display of saplings. It was 6:30 PM and the only customers left were being attended to by other employees.

"Nos! You're here!" she trilled, "What are you doing so early?"

Nos extended his hand to his wife with a warm smile, "I was in town looking for a pretty little probe to take home, and you caught my eye."

"...You're so cheesy," she giggled, taking his hand.

"And sweet?" he added.

Two gave another tinkling laugh, "Very sweet."

Nos-4-a2 leaned close to the little robot and kissed her cheek before motioning toward the exit. "Shall we start heading home?"

"O-Oh, right now? But my shift isn't over yet..."

"I talked to Jenny. Not only do you have permission to leave early, but I have already clocked you out," the Energy Vampire told her with a triumphant smile. Jenny was the manager of Garden Experts.

"...Is this only so that I'm home before dark?" Two asked after a moment of hesitation.

Nos-4-a2's smile faltered. He knew that his mate didn't like to think about what had happened a week ago, but it was still one of the only things on his mind. A team of Space Rangers had come to help the local authorities in their investigation, but there had been no luck. Darkmatter was still out there. Nos had hardly slept at all since the first night after his shoulder was shot, but that was only because he was exhausted after losing so much MR fluid.

"Yes. Is that okay?" he asked quietly.

Two smiled and pat Nos's hand amicably. "Yeah, it's fine. I just wish you would relax a little bit!"

Nos sighed and made a gesture as close to rolling his eyes as he could get, hovering with Two toward the double doors. The short probe took off her Garden Experts smock and hung it on its rung, exchanged a few words of farewell with Jenny, and followed her husband out into the square.

"We're off," he smiled, offering her his hand. She laced her fingers with his and they made their way across the small shopping center. As the couple left their square of stores and went farther into the maze of criss-crossing roads and buildings, more people filled the scene. Vehicles whizzed along either side of the street, some leaving or entering small lots and transferring riders to restaurants or entertainment centers. Many beings walked, rolled or hovered along the concrete sidewalks as Nos and Two did, the blood flowing through the veins of the city.

It wasn't Two's normal route home to go through the city, but the Rangers thought it would be best to avoid the shorter path along the highway where Darkmatter and Nos-4-a2 had their encounter. Unfortunately, that meant that Two never made it home before sundown, and Nos had to wait in agony for her to arrive. Which is why he decided to surprise her by bringing her home early.

"Pardon us," Nos muttered as they squeezed through the line in front of the movie theater. He had a habit of going as fast as he could while interacting with as few people as possible, which was hard to do at rush hour in Axiom's shopping district. Two often found herself apologizing to annoyed passersby whom Nos-4-a2 had thoughtlessly brushed past, which was awkward when he was practically dragging her along behind him.

"Hey, Nos, where's the fire?" she slowed down enough for him to notice, though he refused to come to a complete stop.

"Am I going too fast?" he asked.

"A little," she hovered forward so that they were side by side, "We're early, there's no rush."

They joined a small crowd waiting for the light to change at an intersection, where Nos hung back a few feet. "I know, but I have a bad feeling... call it paranoia, but I want to get home as fast as we can."

Two looked up at Nos, but at her angle, his optics were flooded with reflected light. She could feel tension in his core.

"You're still worried about Warp," she pronounced slowly.

"Don't call him that... it sounds too personal," Nos-4-a2 grumbled. The light changed and everyone started to walk across the street.

"Fine. You're still worried about Darkmatter," Two tried again.

Nos sighed and picked up his pace again once the crowd started to thin out. "Do you blame me? I never met him before the other night, but he had an impressive reputation in the business. I don't expect you to understand."

"Hey..."

"Don't take it that way, all I'm saying is that you were never a villain. I have a sense for these things, and I know that that deranged cyborg is still out there somewhere," Nos said worriedly.

Two was quiet for a moment before replying, "You said 'that' twice in a row."

The tall android groaned in disbelief and hovered even faster. "You know I'm worried about you, right? There's a villain who now has a grudge against me and you could end up getting hurt! Aren't you the least bit worried? What about the baby?"

"It's been a week, Nos. You need to stop living in fear and trust that he's either gone or that the authorities will catch him soon," Two pointed out. He didn't respond.

The farther they went through the city, less people crowded the roads. They were leaving the restaurant district and continuing into the business offices. Traffic in the streets went from busy to thin where the road branched off into the residential district. Two could feel Nos's grip on her hand become tighter. They were just ten minutes away from their estate, surrounded by quiet gray buildings. Just a few more blocks and it was an open stretch of road to their neighborhood. The streetlights began to flicker into life as the sun sank ever lower towards the horizon, letting them know that they still hadn't left early enough to make it home before dark.

"Hey Nos-4-a2?" Two asked, not wanting to progress in any more awkward silence, "What do we have at home for dinner? I'm starting to feel hungry."

Welcoming the distraction, Nos replied, "I just ordered a few packages of crystalic fusion charged power cells, so that's an option-"

"Well, look who we have here?"

Nos-4-a2 froze. Horror spread like a cold slime through his wires at the sound of that smooth, overconfident voice coming from the narrow alley between two nearby buildings. He painstakingly turned his head to see none other than Warp Darkmatter watching from the shadows. His immediate instinct was to fly away as fast as he could and take Two with him, but if Darkmatter decided to shoot again, there was a lot more than his life at stake. The Energy Vampire put his arm out and hovered forward to shield Two, staring straight into the eyes of the blue-skinned alien.

"How did you find me, Darkmatter?" Nos-4-a2 demanded. Two slowly rearranged the parts of her right arm to form her short-range xenon ionization cannon, ready to defend herself if necessary.

"A certain lowlife was being contained in Star Command's brig the at same time you were, and I _persuaded_ him to tell me what happened to you. Dead? Yeah right... you've been killed too many times for me to believe you would stay that way. But getting back to business, I want to see if you changed your mind about the generous offer I made you. I thought that a week would be plenty of time to mull it over," he stepped leisurely into the light.

"You fool, I'm not even a villain any more! Find some other moron; I've been done with the evil business for nearly a decade," Nos declared.

Darkmatter frowned dangerously, "I don't think you understand. When you tried this before, XL was weak, but if we teamed up, Zurg wouldn't stand a chance! Also, you should consider the fact that I am going to die some time in this coming century, when you'll live on to rule the universe on your own! I'm doing you a favor here!"

"Offering me the opportunity to kill freely is no favor. I have my own life now, so why don't you just take a hint and get out of it?"

"Oh, you have your 'own life?'" Darkmatter took a few more unsuspecting steps closer, "What's that like? Peaceful? Fulfilling? Maybe you're even-" Darkmatter changed his robotic hand into another device, throwing off a sickly yellow-green beam that wrapped around Two and yanked her from behind Nos "-in love?"

"_No!_" Nos shouted, his voice changing to a menacing tone, "Damnit, you leave her out of this!"

"So you do still have some fire left in you..." the cyborg smirked. Two tried to strike out and struggle against her bonds as Darkmatter brought her uncomfortably close, but to no avail. The containment field had her arms pinned to her sides, trapping her weapon in an unusable position.

"Let me go!" she cried. If Nos-4-a2 had been paying closer attention, he would have been astonished to see the extent of her ever-growing power in that her sapphire blue eyeforms flashed a deep, ruby red.

"Ah-ah-ah," Darkmatter tisked, "You don't want me to turn up the dial on this one. It has more than enough power to fry a little bot like you to a crisp."

Two turned her eyeforms fearfully towards her mate, who could plainly feel the massive amount of energy concealed in the seemingly harmless shield generator. Electricity crackled in arcs between his fingers as he looked for anything in his surroundings that he could possibly use. A few supply crates, a dumpster, and some sacks of garbage were all that resided in the alley.

"Alright, Warp..." Nos-4-a2's voice was shaking, "We both know that you are an evil man-"

"Thank you."

"-but not pointlessly so. Do what you will with me, but leave her out of this. She's completely innocent, and... with child."

"All the more reason for you to make up your mind, don't you think? Unless you agree to help me overthrow the Evil Emperor, you're going to have one and a half less robots to worry about. One false move and we'll find out just how many volts your pretty little girlfriend can handle," Darkmatter sneered.

"No, please, I can't... I'm begging you..." the electricity stopped running between Nos's fingers.

Two was scared. It was probably beyond recommended levels of fear for a probe in her condition, and robots don't have adrenaline, but her robotic equivallent of maternal instincts were kicking in. There was a helpless life that needed her protection, and nothing was going to get in her way. Nos-4-a2 could sense a decision being made right as she summoned all of her energy and directed it to her right arm, giving it a solid yank and pointing the barrel of her gun straight at the restricting device. She didn't have enough power to deliver a dangerous shot, but there was just enough to do some damage. Darkmatter only had time to blink in shock before she fired a weak discharge at the shield generator, momentarily shorting it out.

It was all the time Nos needed. Two darted out of the way while Darkmatter painfully grabbed his appendage, giving Nos a sufficient amount of space to attack. He threw his fist as hard as he could into the side of the alien's face with a resounding crack that left the blue man reeling. Two pulled a mobile communication device out of a pocket in her cloak and sent out a signal alerting the nearest officers that Warp Darkmatter had been located.

"You're making a huge mistake!" the villain shouted.

"How _dare_ you come here and threaten our lives?! I'm not the robot I used to be, and I never will be again! You would have been better off believing I was dead!" Nos-4-a2 roared, throwing a beam of electricity from his palm to the control panel on the front of Darkmatter's suit. It sizzled and smoked, destroying his only chance for an escape by jetpack.

"You're the sickest man who ever lived, threatening an innocent probe's life!" Nos threw another blow to his face before he could recover. Dark blue blood leaked from Darkmatter's lip and he slumped against the wall.

"_I'll kill you!_" Nos brought both of his hands, sizzling menacingly with power, over his head to aim at the unconscious being's limp form.

Two gently tugged Nos-4-a2's upper arm, "Don't do it."

He looked at her in bewilderment, the electricity in his hands fading along with the rage in his expressive optic. "...I thought he was going to kill you..."

"You're better than him. He's already unconscious and the Rangers are on their way," she showed him the mobile comm. unit.

Nos lowered his arms and put them around Two. She could see tears in his optic.

"A-Are you okay?"

Two let her forehead fall into his shoulder and nodded. The shot she fired had used a lot of her energy, and as if her normal state wasn't bad enough, she felt even more exhausted than usual. The numb remnants of fear draining from her systems left her enervated in Nos-4-a2's embrace.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you," she muttered quietly.

"Don't you worry about that... don't you ever worry about anything ever again. I swear this won't ever happen again," he whispered.

"This isn't your fault, you haven't done anything wrong..."

Darkmatter groaned and Nos reflexively recoiled, tightening his arms around Two. The distant wail of police sirens sailed through the air, far but getting closer.

"He's going to PC-7," Nos-4-a2 bared his teeth, "They've cracked down on security since I broke out. He'll never get off of that planet."

Two buried her visor deeper into his shoulder and closed her eyeforms while he glared down at the bloody-faced cyborg. The sirens became louder, but before the authorities arrived, Two had gone offline.

"What happened here?" The first officer, a Space Ranger, asked as he stepped out of his car. His skin was red and he had bright orange hair, with pupilless yellow eyes. A pair of the Axiom's local officers stepped out behind him, both Humans. They immediately ran to Darkmatter, putting cuffs on his wrists and dragging him into a slumped standing position.

"He ambushed us and assaulted my partner. Eve is fine, just... tired. We both are, so, if you don't mind, we'd appreciate a ride home," Nos fixed Two's position in his arms.

"Of course, but we need to talk about what happened-"

"I know, but neither of us are really prepared for discussion. I can show you what happened. I'll tell you how on the way," Nos cut him off.

The alien considered his offer for a moment, deciding that he was right. The little probe obviously was in no condition to give answers, and being able to see what went on would be even more productive than being told.

Another squad car pulled up along with an ambulance. The doors on the back of the ambulance opened and another Human helped the two officers load Darkmatter onto a stretcher. The red Space Ranger nodded to the others before opening the door to the back seat of his squad car. Nos-4-a2 thankfully hovered into the vehicle and sat down on the padded bench, keeping Two in his arms.

He couldn't believe all that had happened in such a short period of time. The thing he feared the most had started and ended within ten minutes, so it was difficult to comprehend. All that mattered was that they were safe, and one more threat had been eliminated. Two groaned quietly as the Space Ranger shut his door and started the vehicle. Her eyeforms flickered dully, focusing on Nos.

"Take it easy, little one. We're on our way home," he reassured her. She shut her eyeforms again and rested her head back against his chest.

Smoothly gliding forward, the car accelerated past the business offices and onto the short stretch of open road. The ride home would only take a few minutes.

"My name's Plasma, by the way. We weren't properly introduced at the station the other day," the Ranger commented.

"Thank you, Officer Plasma. About what I mentioned earlier, Eve has a security function that records everything she sees. I'll talk to her in the morning, and if she agrees, we'll give you a hardcopy of everything that happened tonight."

"Huh," Plasma laughed, "Only if every witness had that."

Nos smiled. He was finally realizing just how tired he actually was.

"She's okay, though?" Plasma asked as he turned into the neighborhood.

"Eve? Yes, she's just in an energy conservative state. I'll connect her to a charger when we get inside," Nos-4-a2 explained.

"Alright. What time should I come by tomorrow? My captain and teammates will be with me," the Ranger asked.

The Energy Vampire looked down at his mate, her power completely spent. She would need a lot of time to sleep it off. "Noon would be optimal."

Plasma nodded and pulled up to the front gate of their estate. Nos rolled down the window and waved his hand, signaling Computer to let them in. The car rumbled almost imperceptibly as it switched from the paved street to the gravel road.

"Thank you for the ride," Nos-4-a2 said as he fixed Two in his arms once again. The car came to a slow stop at the tall double doors.

"Thank you for helping us catch Warp Darkmatter," Plasma grinned. Nos rolled his optic, thinking to himself that they should have caught Darkmatter so the whole mess could have been avoided earlier.

Nos sidled out of the car and shut the door while balancing Two in his arms, muttering his final farewells to the Space Ranger. As he hovered inside his home, he let out a sigh of relief. He felt that he'd finally proved himself to his small family. He finally knew that he would always be able to protect them, and that fact alone shed light on even the darkest corners of life.

~~~

**A/N:** I'll give a big cookie to anyone who recognizes officer Plasma.  
You'll find that the last lines of my stories are pure cheesiness, so feel free to stop reading once you get to the second-to-last sentence. Thank you =u=


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